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Put YOUR house up for sale before Christmas Day

Put YOUR house up for sale before Christmas Day or miss out on MILLIONS of web-surfers

THINKING of selling your house soon? Property guru Sarah Beeny's got a top tip everyone should listen to this festive season.

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Sarah, who owns estate agent Tepilo, is urging prospective sellers to get their houses market-ready and up for sale ahead of the Christmas rush.

It turns out people are using their time off over the festive season to peruse the property market.

Data released from Rightmove reveals a 20 per cent increase in Brits looking for homes online between Christmas Eve and New Year’s Day.

A whopping 14 million page views were recorded by the property portal on Christmas Day, with over 10,000 people taking time out from the festivities to send emails to agents.

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But that's nothing compared to the views you could be missing out on in the Boxing Day rush.

On the 26th December last year it got even busier, with page views jumping to over 25 million – up 21 per cent on 2012.

Impressions peaked on New Year’s Day, with over 38 million page views recorded.

Speaking about the astounding figures, Sarah said: "People often think November and December are quiet times in the property market calendar and hold off selling until January, but these stats show that putting your house up for sale ahead of the festivities can pay dividends.

"People who are looking to move have more time to search for properties and research the market over the festive period, so it’s a great time to sell."

She added: "You’ll get a head start on anyone not ready to make the most of the increased activity and generate mass interest in your property."

To get your house market ready ahead of the festive rush, Sarah has put together the following top tips:

1. Give your home a quick DIY makeover

Spending a couple of days sprucing up your property can make a huge difference when it comes to attracting buyers. Give grubby walls a quick lick of paint, make sure all lightbulbs are working and tackle any small DIY jobs you’ve been putting off. First impressions really do count, so it makes sense to make your property look polished.

2. Winter proof your garden

Gardens never look their best at this time of year, so spend a few hours making yours look spic and span. Trim bushes, cut the lawn, clear dead plants and tidy away dead leaves and summer garden furniture.

3. De-clutter and clean

Get rid of all your old clutter and give your home a really deep clean to help make it as attractive as possible to buyers.

Sarah added: “By following these tips you really will increase your chance of selling ahead of the January rush. Recent research conducted by us as part of our buyer barometer showed that buyers biggest turn ons are neat, well-kept gardens (48%), cleanliness (43%) and fresh internal paintwork and décor (43%).

"I know of so many people who hadn't planned on moving, but then did some research over Christmas whilst they were off work and actually ended up putting in offers and buying houses they'd seen over that period. It really is the perfect time to sell."

Teplio is an estate agent owned by property guru and TV personality, Sarah Beeny. She set up Tepilo to help redesign the property selling process around the customer, offering hugely reduced fees and 24/7 customer support from a highly experienced team.

Tepilo also offers customers an easy to use website and an app that allows them to track their property sale and receive instant notifications.

* Northern and Shell, the parent company of Express Newspapers, has a commerical interest in Tepilo